Terror attacks by hamas forces against israeli civilians, men, women, children, 10 20 days ago. Hamas will pay for its crimes against humanity. Hamas will pay for slaughtering are people. And tonight, we are starting payback. We are bringing justice to this terrible despicable disgusting terrorist group. And they will pay for their crimes. And once again, not just israel will be better off afterwards, but the people of gaza will be better off without them as well. Those comments from Senior Adviser to israeli Prime Minister netanyahu. Heavy israeli pomerantz throughout the day in what appears to be an increase in coming days. Hundreds of charges in a short period of. Time idf is saying its a greeting is ground operation, including a target raid in Northern Gaza which it calls preparations for the next stages of combat. Part of the reason we do not know much is because we currently have no way at all to communicate with people on the ground in gaza, the 2 Million People that live in that area. We cannot reach our own crews in gaza, the people we work with on the ground, the people we rely on to bring you news. Earlier today we began the reports that the internet was down across the strip. Shortly after, the Largest Telecommunications negatively description after the israeli strikes destroyed blast of its infrastructure. This means, as of now, there is effectively a black hole of information in gaza. Theres still a lot of unanswered questions, leading up to a potential incursion one of the most unknown factors was what would become of the hostages. Amos Kidnapped Hundreds of civilians during the October 7th Attacks earlier this month. They are being held somewhere in gaza. But as a New York Times reports, quote, in a sign of internal division, the Defense Minist yoav gallant, pointedly did not describe rescuing the hostages in his speech on thursday evening as one of israels military objectives. Today, Family Members of some of those hostages have rallied in washington. To the government of israel, and anyone else engaged in the release of the hostages, more this is urgent. And we urge you to do everything within your power to release our families. Release them now. There is also the question of americans and gaza. It is believed there are 500 600 currently stuck in the territory. Their fate remains unknown, particularly amid a potential land war. There was already, before tonight, a humanitarian crisis unfolding in gaza, prior to a potential israeli strikes of the last three weeks have obliterated homes and shelters and only a fraction of the nation this is there a like food and water is making its way across that loan Border Opening with egypt. Theres also no fuel coming into gaza, which means institutions like hospitals are at risk of losing power entirely. Today Israeli Defense forces accuse the largest hospital of gas, at alshifa, of been a covert base for hamas. And idf spokesman said hamas is using the hospital and something of a Command Centre for its operations, the utilize an underground system of elaborate tunnels. Israel has long accused hamas of operating out of civilian infrastructure in claim those entities are there for legitimate military targets. A mass denies israels claims. Nbc news has no way verifying them today. Though today, alshifa hospital held a press conference, refuting those creams, urging International Community to protect its hospitals, and its patients. Speaking to reporters today, White House National security Spokesman John Kirby said while the u. S. Has concern about the vili death toll in gaza, there has been no discussion on the myths of Israeli Military action. Were not trying redlines four is real. Now we continuepport their security needs. That will continue. If youre the president say that, secretary blinken say, it and secretary austin say it. They have every right to defend thselves. They are going after hamas, a group of terrorists that killed more than1400 israelis in a single day, nor a single day. Were going to continue to support them. Its just not clear what the next steps are in this conflict. Were flying a bit blind here. But from what we know right now, things are already very very dire in gaza and have the potential to get much worse. Joining me now live from the israel gaza border, nbc news correspondent alison barber. Ellison, what have youve been seeing in your reporting tonight . Yeah, chris, for the last four hours we have heard what i would describe is the heaviest and most sustained bombardment in Northern Gaza that we have heard in the close to three weeks that we have been reporting along this section of the border. You mentioned our nbc colleagues inside of gaza. They like everyone inside gaza arent able to get messages out communicate with people. But hours ago at least one message from one of our team members did make it to london, and according to our colleagues in london, in that message they said they have been able to get just a bit of service that have been incredibly difficult, they wanted to let us know that there was no power, no communications, no service. And also they said that they were being bombarded, bombed, shelled from the air, and also by land, and they said every street is being impacted and said that people inside of gaza were taking the injured and dead in trolleys and trucks trying to get them help. Palestinian red cross say they have lost all communication with their team members on the ground in gaza and they are particularly concerned that because of what appears to be just a total Communications Outage inside of gaza, the primary Emergency Line for people trying to get an ambulance, trying to get help, 10, one that is likely down or massively interrupted. Israel has been very clear on what they plan to do with this war. They say their ultimate goal is to make sure hamas has no capability or to operate new guzzle moving forward, with hamas in it as an existential threat to their existence, and they say what happened on october 7th, the 1400 Israeli Citizens who were so brutally massacred. But we are also seeing horrific images and we have for a long time now what is happening to palestinians inside gaza. Again, we are not able, really to, get in touch with any contacts that we have inside of gaza, but i can tell you yesterday, a doctor who was working with net global sent me photos from a hospital, not al she for, not the largest hospital, but a different one, and not the one the idf has no intently focused on in the last 24 hours, but a difference, mueller hospital in Northern Gaza. And every photo, chris, it was children. Most of them under the age of five. Some of them dead. So severely bloodied, just so many injuries to their bodies. And some infants being treated by patients, all of, them according to this doctor, been injured, been killed in israeli airstrikes. What is happening inside gaza and what has been happening inside gaza is a massive casualty event, to say the very least. And the bombardments that we are hearing tonight, it has been a bit of a los angeles now in the last five minutes or so, but that has not been the case throughout the night. Every time you hear that boom you know there are likely civilians on the other side of it. Israel has been telling people to head south, passed the river, but one spokesperson, Envoy Liaison for the u. N. , and the u. N. Services that operate inside gaza said people have been given an impossible choice because they are afraid if they leave and head south, that area is still being attacked by israeli airstrikes. Leaving is entirely out of gaza is not an option for people, and for people to be told to leave and not know if or when they can come back, she described it as an impossible choice for civilians. But, again, what we have heard and seen tonight, and gaza is just back there in the distance, it is mostly dark, but we have heard Constant Bombardment into Northern Gaza. Hamass military wing, they say that their forces, their militants, were engaging with idea forces near the city of beta noon, and that is less than some maybe six miles from where we are right now. Chris . Ellison barber, thank you so, much as usual, for your reporting. Dr. Matt gilbert isnt amused regency medical doctor, a member of the norwegian eight committee, Emergency Aid to assist in gaza. Clearly trying to get aid to hospitals in gaza which we cant enter. He is treated patients in gaza during several violence including at alshifa hospital, and he joins me now. Doctor, i want to start with a basic logistical question about fuel for hospitals. Not in any place where hospitals are operating they have backup generators in case the power goes down. The power went down in gaza very early in the blockade, it ran out of fuel, but theres some back up on the generators new, and where is the fuel usually come from under, quote unquote, normal conditions in gaza . Under normal conditions there is a constant flow of both tanks and Tank Carriers and trucks. 4 to 500 per day to sustain a the people of gaza because of the siege and they need a constant supply of goods and fuel from the outside. These Fuel Carriers will bring the fuel to gaza and it is stored in tanks close to the hospitals and other places and of course in Gasoline Stations for cars. Now after this started, the siege has been absolutely complete, and no fuel has been let in new. The Storage Tanks have been empty and the need for hospitals in gaza was around 75 liters per 24 hours now. You need to understand that the normal Electricity Supply is very fragile in gaza. The power now outages is 12 to 14 hours a day. And during the power outage, the hospitals will need to turn on the generators, and without fuel for the generators there is no electricity for the hospitals, which means that all the life support systems, ventilators, the operating room, lamps all of the sophisticated equipment in the icus, will stop working. Currently there are 70 napier patients on ventilators in the Main Trauma Center in gaza. You have worked as a physician in the hospital, and i know im in contact with other physicians working their. Obviously they have been overwhelmed with treating people. It is also turned into a bit of a shelter as people have evacuated the north. There are folks that are camped out in the parking lot. What have you heard, and when do you last year from . Them and what are the most critical needs their . Now i heard from them yesterday, before this complete shutdown of the communications system. They repeated that they were on the brink of having to shut down the hospitals, which is, of course, a complete disaster because of the magnitude of the numbers of woundeds. So far there are 19,000, 19, 19,000 wounded in gaza. 75 are children, women, and elderly, and these are flocking to the hospitals. In addition, all the hospitals have been turned into shelters for the homeless population, which are wandering around and gaza either because their homes have been bombed or because they have complied with the order to leave Northern Gaza. So the only safe now is considered to be the hospitals. As you can see, on these pictures from chief of, the hospitals are filled with patients, with relatives of the patients, and yesterday the number hiding or seeking shelter in Chief A Hospital was around 60,000. So its an enormous accumulation of civilians in and around the hospital, which, of course, make the working conditions very difficult, but they have to take care of their civilians who have no other place to go. Im sorry, you said 60,000 People Sheltering in and around that Hospital Compound . I said 60,000, yes i did. In 2014, during the bombing, in particular on the 20th of july in 2014, we had a massive influx of refugees coming to the hospital, so i know how the conditions will be. But that was nowhere near 60,000. And even that made the operations quite difficult. And you can see in these pictures, this was actually the entrance to the Emergency Room in fifa. There are, like, chance, there is what is on the ground, in the corridors in the stairways everywhere because you have to understand that, for example, at aroma all, where shifa is located, in the gaza city, it is still the only standing building complex because the rest has been virtually bombed. So this is the only place where there is light, where there is shelter, and where there is some sort of Human Security to the extent there is security, because the israelis have been threatening to bomb both shifa and the el capitan spittle, a few blocks from shifa and is operated by the palestinian red crescent. My colleagues are telling me that there is constant fear among patients and these refugees and themselves that the hospitals will be bombed. They have been ordered to empty the hospitals, but both the red crescent and the Minister Of Health has refused because they had not called back to their patients, which was reorientate reiterated by the w. H. O. Israeli dense Defense Forces spokesperson today saying they have been ordered to leave and those calls have not been accepted and not been responded. To mads gilbert, who has practiced in the not spittle there, the largest Trauma Center in gaza, in gaza city. Thank you so much for making time tonight. I appreciated. We scott walker is a former hostage negotiator, former counterterrorism with the united nations, and he joins me now. Scott, i was watching the plaintive and agonizing entreaties by the families of the hostages today. In washington, of course, the field numerous events. In israel, as well. Was there a pinprick of hope coming from the fact that four hostages have been released, dual subaru could israeli rather a daughter added to women, israeli women. Can you give some context for what is happening right now, to the best of your knowledge . As best as you can draw from your experience, in terms of those negotiations . I think what weve seen so far demonstrates that the process that is in places working. We have seen for hostages come out. I appreciate this over 200 being held, but it does show you that those negotiations are working and that the lies lines of communication, trust is being built between the qatars in this case in the Palestinian Hamas leadership to secure the release of those hostages so far. But we are far from over with this. And there have been lots of coordination, lots of communication going back and forth between israel, qatar, and hamas. Obviously taking hostages, the active hamas in nasas israel were a war crime, in violation of International Law, the International Law that compels the unconditional release of those hostages. Theyre not going to do that, obviously. They have some value in negotiations. Do you think theres an interplay between calculations, about Ground Conversions are escalations there, and the Hostage Negotiations . Do you think those are on parallel connects, tracks, or are they connected . Its difficult to say, but i think it is fair to say that hamas will it be in no hurry to release that many hostages right now because they set up partners for them in terms of being human shield, for bargaining, its satirist. And its also fair to say that any increase in military active or activity is potentially going to increase the risk to the hostages. Not just once theyre being held captive, but actually the most dangerous part of negotiation is the release and recovery phase, where you logistically, physically, you have to transport the hostages to safety. In terms of the details of this, you have the israeli spokesperson for Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu comparing hamas to i. S. I. S. And theyre not sees, that they seek their total destruction, that they will rid the world of hamas. At the same time there is some kind of back channel for intermediary with hamas, to try to get the hostages back. Is there a cutout such that no one is talking to each other safe face to face others ago between qatari diplomats or someone like that who end up being the folks that are ferrying messages back and forth . Well, how we are still on the ground depends on the facilities a billety to have those communications. One night its inperson. We know that hamas leadership is in doha and the captain of qatar, and so those conversations will be taking place, whether theyre over the phone or in person. Now you said at the beginning of this, something that i think surprised me little bit, which is that the release of four hostages to you, based on your experience, show that there was progress being made. Do you think that that process can continue . Nick well, i certainly hope so. Theres no reason why shouldnt. It just depends on how far they can get with negotiations. Just because you are negotiating with somebody with a Hostage Takers, it doesnt necessarily mean that agreement is going to be reached in hostages are going to be released. It takes time. Theres so much going on in the background and in this context that makes it the most challenging kind of Hostage Situation you could